Machine for making hollow bullets



UNIIED srarnsifrnnr oFF-ion.

RICHD. GORNALL, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

MACHINE ron MAKING HoLLoW BULLETS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD GORNALL, of the city .of Baltimore, in -tihe State of Maryland, have invented a new ,and useful Machine for Making Hollow Bullets of the Minie or other Kind; and I do hereby declare that the following is va full, clear, and exact description of the saine, reference being ,had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figures l and `r2 ,are .opposite side views of the machine. 3, is transverse vertical section in the plane indicated by the line in Fig. 1,. Fig. il, is .a vertical section .of `the punch and .dies which press the bullets, showing the form to which the bullet is brought by compression. Fig. 4*, is `a plan, showing the arrangementof the finishing cutter relatively .to the dies and core. Figs. 5, 6 and 17 are Views of some of the details of the machine. Figs. 8 and 9, are views of a bullet in its condition .before and after the lll Operation .of the machine.

Similar letter of .reference indicate correspending parts in the several figures.

My invention tconsists in the employment, in combination with a punch and `.set of dies for pressing the blanks .or pieces `of lead into a form :approximating to that desired for the bullets, of La revolving `core which serves, firstly, ,to produce .the cavities in the bullets, and secondly, as a mandrel yto revolve the bullets for the purpose A,of lfinishing their e-xteriors by ,the operation of turning. My invention also consists 'in the employment of an automatically operating cutter 'in combination with the revolving core for the 1purpose tof turning the bullets. And it further 'consists in the employment in combination Vwith the revolving core, of a female center having 4an automatic operation for the purpose of confining the bullets upon the revolying core during the turning operation `and afterward releasing them and moving out of the Way to permit the succeeding =operations ,of `the dies.

To enable others to make and use my invention, 'I will proceed to describe 4its construction and Operation- .Aris a table Supported @standard-S 1B, B., and supporting tw@ stand-arde (C, D, the whole 'Combining to Iform a raming 't0 ear-fr the Wolde-ies -PaltS 0f the :machine Ef the aan-ain -Sl aft Y1512.03.11 which all parte .Off the ,Y p, 'ne derive motion. .supported bearings in the -upper -par-t-s of the standards Specification of Letters Patent No. y22,286, d atel December 14;, 1858.

C, D, and intended to have a constant rotary motion imparted to it by any suitable means.

F, is an upright cylindrical punch having a sharp lower edge and containing a conical cavity i, of a form corresponding with the desired form of the point and front portions of ythe bullets to be produced in the machine. The said punch operates in combination with a stationary die G, for 1the purpose of cutting circular blanks from a square bar of lead to be afterward formed into bullets by its action in `combination with the pressing dies H, H, and core I. The die Gr, is secured within an arch formed in the lower part of the standard C, and the punch F works in a guide in the said standard. The punch is secured to a cross head F, which is fitted to slide vertically upon two guide rods F2, F2, secured to the standard C, and it derives motion from an eccentric wrist a, secured in a wrist plate or crank El, at one end of the .driving shaft E, and working in a curved slot (a1, in the cross head F1.

b, l, are a pair of feed rollers for feeding the bar of lead over the die Gr, to be operated upon by the punch, said rollers work-ing in bearings secured -to one side of the standard C, and deriving motion at proper intervals to feed the bar from-a wiper or cam K, .see Figs. l and 7, on the main shaft E, said wiper or cam acting upon the upper end of ,a lever K1, which works on a fu-lcrum c1, secured on one side ofthe standard C, and'whose lower end carries a pawl C, operating upon a ratchet wheel c2, on the shaft of vthe upper roller b. The said lever K1, is returned toward the vshaft as the wiper K, recedes from it by means of a spring c3.

The pair .of pressure dies H, are fitted to slide horizontally in guides in the bottom of fthe standard C, close to the table A, said dies having semi-cylindrical cavities to fit the punch F. The core I, is arranged below and in Iline with the punch F, Aand having its lower part of a size `Corresponding with the punch F, that 'it may fit closely within the dies H, H,when the latter are closed, and its upper part of a size and form to produce the cavities in the jbulle-ts. The dies H, H, are opened and lclosed at sui-table intervals of time by their connection ,by short links IIl, H1, with the arms N1, N1, of two rock shafts N, N, which work bearings el, ci, SGC-areal ft@ the ,plate ,Af .Said wekrshafts Abeine' furnished with other arms N2, N2, which are connected by rods er, 6, to, land der-.ive motion from, a vertical slide bar O, which is arranged in suitable guides attached to the standard C. This bar O, derives the necessary upward and downward movement to operate the dies H, H, at the proper time from the forked end of a lever O1, which is attached to the wrist a, before mentioned, and which contains a slot m, working on a stud f, secured in the punch cross-head F1, the forked end of the said lever being caused by the combined movements of the wrist and cross head to operate upon a projection g, on the face of the said bar O.

The punch, dies and core above described operating in combination with each other, bring the bullet to the form shown in Fig. S, also shown in the sectional view of the punch and dies in Fig. 4. The reason why the bullet is not finished to the form shown in Fig. 9, by pressure, is, that the exterior surface of the punch and the surface of its interior cavity z', which constitutes a die would have to unite in a sharp edge which would not stand the operation of punching out the blanks. By leaving the face of the punch thick enough to stand that operation, the shoulder 11 is produced all around the bullet, and it is the cutting` off this shoulder, as well as any fin that might be left at the junction of the two dies H, H, that the turning operation is intended, principally, to effect, though I propose generally to turn nearly the entire exterior surface of the bullet to render it perfectly true and concentric to its interior cavity, and also to turn the grooves t', o, for the cartridge twine.

To provide for its revolution to turn the bullets, the core I, is attached securely to, or made in the same piece with a vertical shaft I1, which is fitted to a suitable bearing in the plate A, but well supported vertically by a shoulder above the table; and to enable it to carry with it the bullets, I cut a slight notch o, across the tip and down bot-h sides (as shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 4*) into which a portion of the lead is forced by the pressing operation. The core is not intended to revolve during the pressing operation, but its revolution is to commence as the dies open; and to provide for this the shaft I1, is furnished with fast and loose pulleys h, 711, to receive a band j, which runs in a groove in the fly-wheel L, on the main shaft E, and which is shifted from one to the other of the said pulleys at the proper stage of the operation by means of a shipper lever P, which works on a stationary fulcrum 7c, below the table A, and which is operated by its connection by a link cl, with the joint pin Z, which connects the link H1, of one of the dies H, to its respective arm N1.

Q, is the cutter by which the eXteriors of the bullets are turned, havingA its vedge formed like such portion of the intended longitudinal profile of the eXteriors of the bullets as it is intended to turn. This cutter, shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4*, 5 and (3, is secured to the arm Q1, of a vertical rockshaft It, which works in suitable bearings attached to the standard C. This cutter is moved up toward the bullets as the dies open by the action of a cam S, on the main shaft E, on an arm R1, on the upper part of the rockshaft and moved back to the position indicated in bold outline in Fig. 4*, out of the Way of the dies H, H, and punch F, by means of a spring S1, applied to the said arm R1. The cam S, is so formed as to make the cutter advance quickly till it comes in contact with the bullet on the core and then very gradually, but to let it remain stationary for a limited period at the end of its advance that it may finish the bullet perfectly true.

7), is the movable female center which confines the bullets on the core during the turning` operation, shown in Figs. l, 2, 3, 4i, 5 and 6. This center, which is formed to fit the tip of the bullet, is attached to the horizontal arm s1, of an upright bar T, which has an eye t, at each end, fitted loosely to the rockshaft R, and which is furnished with another arm s, which stands over the shaft E. This arm s, has a projection S2, on one side, Which occupies a position between the arm R1, of the rockshaft R, and the shaft E, so that the spring S1, acts through the arm R1, upon the said projection to draw the female center to the position shown in bold outline in Fig. 4*, out of the way of the dies H, H, and punch F. The female center is moved to the position indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 4*, viz: directly over the center of the core I, after the rise of the punch F, and opening of the dies H, H, by the action of a cam U, made vin the same piece with or arranged close to the cam S, and after it has moved to this position it is brought down on the bullet by the depressing action upon the bar T, of a spring fw, coiled round the rockshaft R. The descent of the female center before it arrives over the center of the bullet isprevented by the action on the under side of the arm s, on the bar T, of the same cam K, which has been described as driving the feed rollers 5, b1. This cam K, when the proper time arrives, lifts the center p, off the bullet previously to permission being given by the cams S, U, for the spring S1, to throw it out of the way of the dies H, H, and punch.

V, is the knockoff lever for knocking the finished bullets oftI the core, arranged on a fulcrum y, below the table A, and having one extremity bent upward and protruding through a small hole in the table close to the side of the core I. This lever is struck once in every revolution of the shaft E, by a wiper W, o`n the fly wheel L, and by that means the extremity protruding through the table is caused to rise suddenly and strike the lower edge of the bullet on the core, and knock it olf, and tip it over on the opposite side of the core so that it falls t-hrough a hole e, in the table into a suitable receptacle. To prevent the bruising of the bullet the knock off lever should be tipped With cloth, leather or some other soft substance, and the receptacle into which the bullets fall should be kept well supplied with saw dust, bran or other soft granulated or foliated substance.

Having described the construction of the machine and the individual operations of the several parts I will in conclusion briefly describe the process of forming and finishing the bullets as performed by it.

The bar of lead, represented in red outline in Fig. 3, having been fed by the feed rollers over the stationary die G, the punch F, instantly descends and cutting a blank from the bar, drives it through the die G, and between the dies H, H, which close during the operation of cutting the blank. The continued descent of the punch within the closed dies H, H, drives the lead over the core I, and causes the cavity or die t', within its own face to be filled up by the great pressure thus given to the lead, and this brings the bullet to the condition represented in Figs. et and 8. Before the entry of the punch between the dies H, H, the band was shifted on the loose pulley tl of the core shaft, to leave the core stationary during the pressing operation; but as the dies H, H, open and the punch rises the band is shifted on to the fast pulley L., and the revolution of the core with the bullet upon it, at a very high speed, commences, and the female center p, and cutter Q, advance, the center moving forward at once and rapidly 'to a posit-ion directly over the bullet and then suddenly dropping on its tip, and the cutter moving forward rapidly to a position close to the bullet and then more slowly to prevent too deep a cut being taken in the rapidly revolving bullet. The cutter after taking off the shoulder n, cutting the grooves fv, n, and otherwise finishing the eX- terior of the bullet, is suddenly thrown back to the position shown in bold outline in Fig. 4*, and at the same instant the female cenand out of the machine and by the time this has been accomplished, the punch is again descending to cut another blank from the bar of lead which has been fed a proper dis tance over the die Gr, during t-he turning operation.

I do not confine myself to the use of a single core, as a series of co-res may be arranged on a revolving or reciprocating plate operated to carry them alternately, first into positions to combine with the dies and aft-erward into proper positions relatively to a cutter or cutters to turn the bullets. Nor do I confine myself to the use of a core of any particular form nor to the manufacture of any particular form of bulle-t, nor to the use of any particular contrivances for giving motion to the several parts of the machine. ButI That I claim as my invent-ion and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The employment in combination with a` punch and set of dies, or their equivalent, for pressing blanks or pieces of lead into a form approximating more or less to the desired form for hollow bullets, of a revolving core serving firstly to produce the cavities in the bullets and secondly as a mandrel to revolve them for the purpose of finishing their exteriors by turning them, substantially as herein specified.

2. The employment in combination with the revolving core of a turning cutter operating automatically, substantially as herein specilied.

3. The employment in combination with the revolving core and turning cutter of a female center operating substantially as described, for the purpose of securing the bullets on the core during the turning operation, and liberating them after such opera tion.

RICHARD GORNALL.

Tit-nesses z C. H. KLINEFELTER, Iasi-IN. RUDDACI-I. 

